One aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle user interface, with which a person can operate one or a plurality of devices in a motor vehicle by gesticulating, i.e. an infotainment system and/or an air conditioning system, for example. The person can perform the gestures with at least one arm. A gesture is identified optically, wherein it is filmed by a camera system and is then associated by a recognition device with one of a plurality of predefined operating gestures using a classification.
A user interface of this type is for example known from DE 103 49 568 A1. According thereto, a hand of an operator in a motor vehicle is filmed by a camera system that is disposed in a ceiling of the interior of the vehicle above a central console of the motor vehicle. If a person holds his hand above the central console and adopts a predetermined position with the hand or makes a predetermined hand movement, this is identified by a recognition device coupled to the camera system and a corresponding control command is output to a radio of the motor vehicle for example, so that the person can adjust a playback volume with their operating gesture for example.
It has been shown to be problematic with gesture recognition in a motor vehicle that a person often also holds their hand in the region above the central console for other reasons and gesticulates there with the hand. If for example a driver is conversing with another passenger and while doing so leans his arm on an armrest of the central console, then his hand will also be located in the detection region of the camera system. If he then performs a gesture with the hand that is not defined for the operation of the motor vehicle, for example because he is just explaining something and is gesticulating while doing so, then the gesture, which is actually to be ignored, is also filmed by the camera system and interpreted by the recognition system. It can thus occur that equipment settings can be altered during the conversation without the driver intending this.
A user interface for a motor vehicle is described in DE 10 2006 037 156 A1, with which graphical contents are altered by operating gestures on a touch screen (contact-sensitive display screen) and are adjusted at the finger position in doing so. Thus for example an approaching finger can be detected and interpreted as an impending operating gesture on the touch screen. Accordingly, for example a letter or a menu entry can be shown enlarged so that the operator can then touch this more easily with a fingertip. Thus with this system only the representation on the display screen can inadvertently be altered by a gesture that is actually to be ignored, without a control command being inadvertently generated at a device, however. The control command is only produced in the event of actually touching the touch screen. However, it is a disadvantage with this that in order to touch the correct function on the display screen the driver has to divert his view from the traffic scene in order to be able to locate letters or menu entries.
A user interface of a motor vehicle is known from DE 10 2006 009 291 A1 that comprises a gesture recognition device that processes 3D image data. For this purpose, an upstream camera system comprises a time-of-flight camera. A stereo camera can also be provided for producing the 3D image data.